Frosh on Board - First Year Experiencefye.osu.edu/Presentations/2020/Frosh on board.pdf• Make it memorable • It’s OK to make it FUN (but remember to work toward the educational

Frosh on Board:Tips and Recommendations for Designing and Implementing Educational Road Trips for First-Year StudentsFocusing on the First Year Conference 2019 –January 14, 2020

Presented by:

• Maddie Azari (Smith-Steeb Assistant Hall Director)

• Clay Peck (Morrill Tower Assistant Hall Director)

• Julius Mayo (Assistant Director of Academic Initiatives)

Agenda

• Introductions• Theoretical Connections• Learning by Experience• Personal and Group Development (Stirring the Pot)• Case Studies and What We’ve Learned • Final Thoughts and Reflections• Questions, Comments, Sources

________________________________________________________

Who We Are

Clay Peck Maddie Azari Julius Mayo

What brings you here?

”Rumors of War” by Kehinde Wiley

Do You MUNDO?

• MUNDO is a Residence Life Learning Initiative and student organization focused on facilitating social change through service, learning and leadership that was founded in 1997.

• Our theme for 2019-2020 is Cultivating our Community: Rediscovering our Identity

• During Fall semester we focused on personal identities related to sexual orientation, race, gender, veteran status, and physical ability.

• The group meets weekly for workshops, discussions, service projects, and road trips at least twice a semester

• As part of our road trip opportunities we focused on immigration, global conflict, Asian identity, Latinx identity, and homelessness.

Learning by Experience

https://involvedliving.osu.edu/mundo

Theoretical Connections• Dewey (1986) established the foundational

constructs of experiential learning by emphasizing the need for intentionally designed experiences that used interactions between ideas and individuals to promote a desire for more experiences (additional learning) after taking part in an educational opportunity.

• Kolb (2005) expanded on the work of Dewey, Lewin, Piaget, Jung, Freire and Rogers by categorizing the educative environments that are most conducive to helping diverse groups of learners reap the most benefits from experiential learning. Kolb also established a theory on the learning processes students use to gain new knowledge and skills from experiential learning opportunities. John Dewey

Learning by Experience

• Experiential learning is not “merely memorizing a pre-defined set of abstract facts and figures, which are subsequently regurgitated in exams.” (Tomkins & Ulus, 2016)

• Mezirow (2018) describes experiential learning as a transformational pedagogy designed to help learners develop new ways to think about and engage with new forms of ideas and differing groups of individuals.

• An important, but not always ”fun”, aspect of how experiential learning transforms the way students think, is dissonance.

• Dissonance occurs when new ways of thinking and acting challenge preconceived beliefs and behaviors (Kiely, 2005)

Personal Identity Development

• Contemporary theorists and practitioners are quick to point out that learning, whether it is experiential or not, does not occur in a bubble.

• In Western culture identity development for many learners is intertwined (consciously or unconsciously) with how they become “educated”.

• Research on identity development associated with factors including race, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, and citizenship status indicate that while intentional engagements with difference is beneficial for diverse groups of students, the educational journey for each learner is different.

Stirring the Pot

• In MUNDO we work to stimulate dissonance in how participants think about themselves and their world by supplementing the program’s educational road trips with ongoing discussions, activities, and reflections that are designed to take a more nuanced look at societal issues related to diversity, inclusion and social change.

• This process can be particularly challenging for first-year students who often have never been exposed to these ideas, or thought they were part of a silent minority of learners who felt the way that they do.

Group Dynamics

Tuckman’s Model of Group DevelopmentImage taken from http://margarethilary.com/team-work/

Forming

Key Ideas• It’s not the same for everyone• Recognize differences are OK and

welcome them• Helping the group make connections

won’t happen by accident (did someone say “icebreakers”?)

• Don’t make anyone feel isolated from being part of the group

Storming

Key Ideas• With difference comes complexity,

and that’s cool!• Not everyone understands or

accepts group norms right away• It takes time to figure out what works

best for everyone in a group

Norming

Key Ideas• Group identity, expectations

are set• Watch that this is a group

process and not just something done by just a few

• Remember that norming shouldn’t mean absolute conformity– as in, no room for new ideas or individuality

Performing

Key Ideas• This is what helps group

members stay committed to the experience

• Creates goals and objectives for the group to work toward

• Provides opportunities for group members or the group to shine such as by discussing new ideas and perspectives they have gained from the experience (during a reflection session)

Adjourning

Key Ideas• Should be intentional and reflective• Make it memorable• It’s OK to make it FUN (but

remember to work toward the educational goals of the experience)

Hello, Generation Z Researchers such as Twenge (2017) describe Generation Z as:

• In no hurry to grow up (but less “me” focused than past generations such as *ahem* Millennials)

• Citizens of the internet (especially social media)

• Proponents of virtual connections

• Income Insecure

• Struggling with greater mental health challenges than previous generations

• Less Spiritual

• Indefinite about sex, marriage, children

• Inclusive*

• Independent

* But not necessarily conscious of the role diversity plays in social and intellectual interactions

Traditional First Year Challenges• ”I got this… sort of”

• Wanting to appear to have it all together even when unsure about how to deal with classes, roommates, or even practical things like how to get back into your residence hall room if you misplace your key

• “We’re Not in Kansas anymore”• Realizing that there might be more ways to understand ideas and

beliefs than the dualistic approaches that were used previously in their lives

• “Where do I fit in?”• After learning more about their new social and academic contexts,

first-year students will likely seek out groups, experiences, or activities that they perceive to be helpful to them adjust to life in a new environment

What this might mean in practice…• In loco parentis is the perceived format of the travel experience.

• Staff and faculty leaders become “parents” seen as able to provide resources, provide guidance on how to make meaning of new experiences, and the rule-setter for acceptable and unacceptable behavior

• Environments without wi-fi or online connections produce discomfort or even disorientation

• The cost of certain experiences, meals, or activities may cause distress over not being able to afford to participate, but not wanting to miss out.

• The strategies used to deal with mental or physical health challenges on campus might not be available in a new context

• Topics or experiences that occur during the travel experience raise uncomfortable and difficult issues about topics such as privilege, race, gender, social inequality, bias or discrimination.

Case Study –“They just don’t get it”

• As part of a week-long look at the global connections of New York City to the world, you and two other staff members take a group of 15 students to the 9/11 Tribute museum in Lower Manhattan.

• While reflecting on the powerful historical tour, you notice that one of your peer staff members is clearly upset. You ask what is wrong and they respond:

• Can you believe these students, it seems like they just rushed through the exhibit, were on their phones half the time, and just didn’t seem to understand how important this information is.

• What dynamics might be at play in this scenario when working with first-year students.

• What strategies would be helpful for addressing the issues raised in this scenario ?

Case Study – “Suffering in Silence”• The first-year group spring break trip to Los Angeles seemed to be

going well. The entire group was on time for every meeting, the reflection discussions were going well, and there were no reports of roommate conflicts (at least not yet.)

• As you are headed to your room after a day of volunteering at the Los Angeles Area foodbank you are stopped by a few student members of the group. They inform you that their roommate lost their wallet containing their student and state ID, cash, debit cards, and metro pass two days ago (shortly after the group orientation to the area).

• When you follow up with the student about the loss, they inform you that they didn’t say anything because they were embarrassed and didn’t know what to do.

• What dynamics might be at play in this situation? • What strategies would be helpful for addressing the issues

raised in this scenario?

Case Study – “All for One?”• After the reflection discussion with the group of first-year students you have

been traveling with in New York City, an upper-class peer mentor who is helping with the road trip comes to you with a concern.

• Despite having volunteering with an afterschool program in Spanish Harlem, learning about the history of discrimination faced by Asian Americans as part of several powerful exhibits at the Museum of Chinese in America in Chinatown, and a highly engaging discussion with local leaders in Harlem about the impact of stop and search police procedures on Latinx and African American residents, the peer mentor perceives the group as not understanding the importance of learning to connect with others different from themselves.

• “Look at everyone, they are all racially segregated. I thought this trip was about learning to live together better. It seems like they are more than happy to just stay in their own little cliques,” the peer mentor critiques.

• What dynamics might be at play in this situation? • What strategies would be helpful for addressing the issues raised in this

scenario?

Recommendations from the RoadCheck-Ins• Quick in progress spot-checks to process emotions, thoughts, frustrations

Journals• Critical reflection resource that can be (and should be) reflected back on as

learning continues

Group Discussions• Good for sorting through the larger questions, and exploring multiple

perspectives

Reunions/1:1 processing after the experience /online feedback forms • Opportunity to step back from experience, while being able to relate to peers

How are YOU doing?• As a facilitator, what are your biases, concerns, blind spots in terms of the

study abroad context and/or potential student needs

Recommendations from the Road (cont.)• Reflection Activities• Journals with prompts for each

day• Assigned reflection groups• Beginning the day with activities

that build relationships• Breaks during the day to allow

the group to process and react to what they are learning

Final thoughts, Questions, Reflections,Comments

Sources

• Dewey, J. (1986, September). Experience and education. In The Educational Forum (Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 241-252). Taylor & Francis Group.

• Kiely, R. (2005). A transformative learning model for service-learning: A longitudinal case study. Michigan journal of community service learning, 12(1), 5-22.

• Mezirow, J. (2018). Transformative learning theory. In Contemporary Theories of Learning (pp. 114-128). Routledge.

• Tomkins, L., & Ulus, E. (2016). ‘Oh, was that “experiential learning”?!’Spaces, synergies and surprises with Kolb’s learning cycle. Management Learning, 47(2), 158-178.

• Twenge, J. M. (2017). IGen: Why today's super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy--and completely unprepared for adulthood--and what that means for the rest of us. Simon and Schuster.

• Welch, M. (1999). The ABCs of reflection: A template for students and instructors to implement written reflection in service-learning. NSEE quarterly, 25(2).